Whiffs of Change
by PurpleBlaze
Summary: My interpretation of how the Curtis brothers are faring about ten months after the book. It's Ponyboy centered, but all of our favorite characters are included. [Complete]
1. A typical day

_I hope reading this won't be a waste of time for you, but I promise to try really hard to put before you a quality post book Outsiders story. This is my first ever fan fiction, so I don't have a style down yet. Please review to help me make sure I'm going in the right direction. If I make stupid mistakes, don't be mean. Please tell me what I can do to fix it. Hope you enjoy your Outsiders experience!_

Sodapop Curtis merrily whistled to himself as he peered at his creation baking in the oven. It had been ten long months since that fateful day when two of his best friends' lives were taken. Since then things were finally going right for the Curtis family.

Darry got finally got a promotion in the roofing business for working like a fiend all day. His new salary was big enough that he was able to quit his second job and spend more time with Soda and Pony. He also began to relax more and even sometimes went out with some co-workers after work.

Ponyboy had all the makings of a track star in him. He was on the varsity team and one of the key runners. His grades leaped up to A's and stayed there, which made Darry happy. As a result, it was easy for the two to keep their promise to Soda and not argue all the time.

As for Soda, he finally got over Sandy. He wasn't sure if he would ever love another girl like he loved Sandy, but he sure was trying. He and Steve went to parties on a nightly basis to flirt with and pick up girls.

The oven's timer shrilly sounded, breaking Soda sharply from his reflections. He put on an oven mitt and threw the oven door afar. Slowly, almost lovingly, Soda gently placed the pan of double chocolate chip triple fudge cookies on the stove top to cool.

It was at that moment that Darry walked in the back door.

"Hey Soda," Darry greeted. "Those look good, but you do realize that you're in charge of dinner, not just dessert. Right?"

Soda put on an offended expression.

"Of course Dar! Do you think so little of me?"

"Well, where is it then?" Darry probed.

Soda then had the decency to look sheepish. His handsome dark brown eyes searched beseechingly around the kitchen, as if food might suddenly appear. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to say, "Well, you see, I was ...er… pulling out the dinner ingredients when I heard a loud bang and a quack from the basement. So naturally-"

"I'm too tired to listen to one of your crazy, made-up-on-the-spot excuses. I just want to go take a shower, change clothes, and come down to a hot meal. Now get started Sodapop."

Soda obediently dashed to the cupboard to grab a bag of pasta noodles. Darry paused by the door on his way out of the kitchen.

"Where's Ponyboy? Isn't he home yet?"

Filling a pot with water, Soda shrugged. "Haven't seen him. Don't worry Dar, you know how he is. Probably just lost track of time. Like always."

"That kid's gonna give me an ulcer if he doesn't start using his head." Darry grumbled. The grumble of his voice didn't match his eyes as he fondly thought of his youngest brother. He may always be after Ponyboy to think and get his head out of the clouds, but he'd take Ponyboy any day just as he was. Absentmindedness was a quality of Pony's that was a part of who he was.

At that moment the topic of their conversation meandered casually into the house.

"Hey Dar. Hey Soda." Ponyboy greeted.

He strolled by the stove and grabbed a handful of cookies, then proceeded into the living room.

"Hey pony, where've you been?" asked Darry.

"It's Wednesday." Pony said, like it was obvious.

"Is that supposed to mean something to us?" Soda asked, sticking his head out of the kitchen.

"Oh yeah," Pony said. "I forgot to tell you. Coach is making us work on endurance every Wednesday, so practice is twice as long. He makes the team run miles over 'different types of terrain'."

Darry said, "I wish you would have told me sooner so that I wouldn't have to wonder where you are. This is a dangerous neighborhood. I want to know where you are at all times."

"Sorry Darry," Pony said. "I'll try to remember next time.

Soda and Darry shot amused looks at each other over Pony's head. The odds of him not forgetting something were slim to none.


	2. Sad TwoBit, Track practice, and Soda

_I wasn't going to update until tomorrow, but my nice reviews gave me the extra pump I needed to put up chapter 2 tonight. sigh your reviews make me work harder than I my lazy self is used to. (If that even makes sense.) _

_Flag: don't worry; I'll try not to be too stereotypical. (Although I do enjoy reading the run of the mill stories if they are written well.) And I am planning to throw in a couple twists near the end._

_Xodamhsoirxo: oooooh, my first time to ever be on a favorites list. Let me shake your hand._

_uandme72: Thanks : ) I dedicate this update to you your review._

_AddictionToFiction: Thank you. It means a lot to me that you think that this is well-written. I'm typically a non-fiction writer. I am a facts person: I'm senior news editor for my school paper and I participate in UIL expository writing(both strictly non fiction). So writing fiction is a completely new field for me._

_IAmOnlyMe: You're post helped me the most. I see what you mean about the characters being a bit distant. I'm going to start writing in first person instead of third person to see if that helps. Sorry about the editing problems. I type pretty fast and sometimes my spell-check andI working together don't catch all the typos._

_Pyrojo: I'm glad you find it interesting._

_SuperDope: About Soda's eyes. I can't believe I missed that! Thanks for pointing that out. I knew all along he had dark brown eyes, I really did! I tried to fix It, but whenever I go to edit It this site leaves the chapter exactly the same. Does that mean I have to repost the entire first chapter to fix the little mistakes?_

_Mel: Thank ye very much, and I will ;)_

**TWO-BIT'S POV**

They finally did it. They forced me. I didn't have a choice. I begged, I pleaded, I threatened, I punched a couple of walls; but they still did it to me. It was the meanest, cruelest thing that they could have ever done to me. The school made me graduate.

It wasn't so bad at first. I hung out with the gang in the summer like usual. Went to a couple of keg parties. But then I Just kept getting more and more bored The past few months have been especially rough. My mom's been ragging on me to get a job. Ha! The very idea of my working for a living is repulsive. Ridiculous to even consider. Instead of manual labor, I pass my time watching the paint on my mom's car rust and observing certain foods in my fridge turn brown. That… and drinking.

Ever since I left school, alcohol is the one thing in my life that I can turn to for pleasure. Beer doesn't expect anything out of me. A shot of vodka has never once told me to be useful and productive.

Anyways, I was wandering up and down the isles of a convenience store, trying to look inconspicuous. Unfortunately, the cashier had me pegged as a thief and kept his eyes on me the entire time. Knowing I would never get away with lifting a six pack with muscles behind the counter staring me down, I headed out. It was then that it really hit me. I had nothing to do. I would have gone and hung with Ponyboy, but he was in school. All my other friends had to go be respectable by working for a living. I had nowhere to go. No one to hang with.

When had I become such a loser? I never felt so down about my life. I was nothing, and I had nowhere to go. Nowhere except… I headed to Buck's to find solace in an ice cold beer.

**PONY'S POV**

_Thump… Thump… Thump…_

My heart was pounding against my ribs. As if it was a prisoner desperately trying to free itself from a too constricting jail. The steady beat of my heart pulsated around me, urging me to rush.

_Whack… Whack… Whack…_

My track shoes pounded the pavement steadily, as if they could go on forever. My painfully aching legs begged me to let them rest, but I wouldn't let them.

_Gasp… Gasp… Gasp…_

My chest heaved with every breath of gasping air I pulled in. My lungs burned with the fire of working too hard in a too small amount of time.

I was going to die. I knew that I shouldn't have smoked that cigarette. I had been cutting back lately for track, but I just had to smoke one today of all days. Couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't do anything but run, run, and run some more. 'I'll be running for the rest of my life,' I despairingly thought.

Suddenly, it was over. As my pace got slower and my gasps of pain slowly turned back into regular breathing, I could dimly hear excited cheers over the still too loud thudding of my heart.

My teammates were all running up to me.

"Way to go dude!" Rusty yelled. "If you do that well at district next month, we're a shoo-in for State!"

Coach Lewis ran up and pounded me on the back. "Way to go Curtis! You just beat the school record! You're time for that 1600 meter sprint was 4:28.57"

I would have been happier about my time if I wasn't so thirsty. Someone shoved a water bottle into my hand. I looked up and nodded at Carrie thankfully as I chugged my water.

Coach said, "I think this team is the best team this school has ever seen. We're going to go all the way this year!" Everybody cheered. Rusty started walking on his hands while Jason started up a wave. Feeling better, I did a back flip and joined Rusty.

"To be champions, we need to up our practice though," Coach Lewis continued. "We're going to start practicing two hours after school everyday. Four hours on Wednesdays. On weekends we will condition and lift weights in order to get into better shape."

Needless to say, we abruptly stopped the celebration.

"Coach is crazy!" Rusty declared later that day as the team left the locker rooms.

"He's one to talk," Jason muttered to me.

It was true. Rusty, affectionately nicknamed Rusty on account of his red hair, was the class clown. He had a quirky sense of humor that always made him pull crazy stunts. He reminded me of Two-Bit in that way.

"You said it Rusty," Carrie said as she joined our group. "I'm never going to be able to keep up with everything on top of the new track schedule."

If anybody could though, Carrie Prescot could. She was class Valedictorian and your typical over-achiever. Being number one at everything came natural to Carrie, and she didn't understand why nobody could keep up with her brilliance.

"We got our unofficial class ranks today guys. What did you all get?" She questioned.

Jason and Rusty told their ranks (176 and 323) and everybody turned expectantly towards me.

"It's nothing." I muttered, casting my eyes down. I muttered my rank.

"What was that?" Jason asked.

"11" I repeated.

"Pony that's amazing!" Carrie exclaimed before anyone else could say anything. "If you work really hard, you can graduate next year as salutatorian. I'll help you! Of course you're going to need lots of extracurricular activities to match your new status."

As Carrie chattered on, my stomach sank. I had worked really hard the last ten months to bring my grades up. Apparently it had paid off. I would now have to work twice as hard though. Work twice as hard to not only keep my rank, but to move up as well. I didn't want to work that hard! Yet I could just picture Darry's and Soda's proud faces as I gave my salutatorian speech. I wanted that really bad. But I would need to sacrifice a lot to get there. Not to mention the new track schedule was going to wear me down.

I decided then and there that the strain wasn't worth it. But I changed my mind when I kept picturing the image Darry and Soda having something to be proud of me for. Wasn't it already a given in my family that I was the one that was going to make something of myself? I felt more pressured than I had in a long time.

Eventually Rusty and I bid Jason and Carrie good-bye, and then continued on to our neighborhood. My backpack felt extra heavy with the promise of the hard-core studying that I would soon have to do.

**STEVE'S POV**

Soda and I stood side by side. We had worked on this for months. With a flourish, Soda unveiled his baby.

"You know I approve Soda, but Darry won't have it." I said.

"I'll handle Darry. He won't stand in the way of something so great." Soda stated. "Plus, I saved _my_ extra work money for months and months for this. Plus, I'm seventeen, almost eighteen in a couple of months, which is practically an adult! When opportunity knocks Steve, you open the door. That was my wisdom for the day."

"I can't wait to see the load of wisdom Darry lays on you when he sees this." I said.


	3. The new typical evening

_Silly me, I forgot to mention earlier that I disclaim ownership of all Outsider characters._

_This started out as a kind of filler chapter just to say that I updated, but the last part is kind of crucial to what's to come._

_Thanks to ms.sodapop, kitkat244,_ _xodamhsoirxo, SuperDope, and everybody who reviewed. _

_AddictionToFiction: Aha! That's it. I'll go back and change that later :p My school is set up that we get our unofficial class ranks twice a year. That's probably pretty uncommon though._

_DreamerandReckless: Maybe something bad is going to happen, you never know. -grins wickedly- And I'll try not to make Pony act too sensitive. He will be kind of touchy on the inside, but he won't show it by crying all the time. He is a greaser after all._

**PONY'S POV**

_If the domain of both functions is restricted to x 0, does f(x) become invertible? Does g(x) become invertible?_

Ponyboy sighed tiredly and rubbed his forehead. He briefly considered going to bed and finishing his homework early in the morning, but he wanted either Darry or Soda to get home first.

Anxious, Ponyboy looked at the clock for the 20th time. It was well after midnight on a weeknight and neither had made it home. Soda was one thing, but Darry usually made it a point to set a good example by always being home at a decent hour. That was until he met Charlene.

Ponyboy curled his lip in jealous disgust. About a month ago, Darry started seeing _her_. A friend of a friend had introduced this woman into their lives. She wormed her way into Pony's life, ruined it, and he still had yet to meet this snake of a woman!

Darry was rarely home ever since he had started seriously seeing Charlene. Ponyboy was glad that Darry was finally comfortable enough to have a social life outside of work, but Pony felt like a puppy that didn't get enough attention from its owner. He would never let Darry in on his feelings though. He was still a greaser at heart after all, and he had a reputation to maintain. He couldn't go around sounding like a toddler.

Instead of moping, Ponyboy used all the quiet free time to do advanced placement homework, work on extra curricular projects, and run around the streets at night to help get in even better shape for the upcoming District meet.

Sighing again, Ponyboy checked the clock and returned to the wonderful world of Pre-Cal.

_Find a polynomial of degree 8 that has 2-i, 1 and -1 as zeros…_

**DARRY'S POV**

I pulled into the driveway grinning form ear to ear. What a great night. Charlene and I always had such good times together. Both of us worked and needed all income to pay bills. So even though our dates were always cheap/free, they were fun due to the company. The last time I had such a good time with a girl was with my high school sweetheart. I shook my head. The carefree days of high school seemed like a lifetime ago.

Pony was sprawled out on the couch when I walked into the living room. His green binder acted as a pillow while his right arm and leg dangled limply off the upholstered sofa. Rolling my eyes, I pulled the binder out from under his head and replaced it with a proper pillow. I fondly brushed his hair back away from his face and he winced in his sleep. I pulled my hand away. I was always rough without meaning to be.

According to the clock it was way later than I thought. Soda was still out. Normally I trusted Soda to be out on his own. Not in the past two months though.

_Flashback_

"_No." Darry said firmly._

"_Come on Dar, I bought the parts with my own money and hand built Soda Jr."_

_Soda lovingly ran his hand over the rusty, patched up Harley-Davidson Softail Springer._

"_You named it after yourself?" Pony piped up incredulously._

_Everybody reflexively turned toward Two-Bit, ready for him to make his typical wise crack, but the usually boisterous youth was listlessly staring off into space. A miserable expression etched upon his face._

"_You alright dude?" Soda questioned in the following silence._

"_What?" Two-bit looked up suddenly. He looked around searchingly, trying to pick up on what he missed out on. The look of misery faded away quickly with the talent that comes with practice. Grinning mischievously, he said, "I was just thinking of all the free time I have to work on my muscles while you all waste away at work."_

_With that said, he leaped at Steve in order to wrestle him to the ground._

_Ignoring the antics going on in the dirt beside him, Darry kept his focus on Soda._

"_I just don't have a good feeling about this whole situation little buddy. Motorcycles are dangerous."_

"_I think they're cool," Steve shouted from the ground with his arm around Two-Bit's neck._

"_Come on Dar," Soda repeated, "What's the worst that could happen?"_

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_PurpleBlaze solemnly walks out pulls a tootsie roll on a chain out of her vest pocket. She slowly swings it back and forth in front of your face. "Revieeeeww" She whispers. Mesmerized by the hypnotic swinging of the tootsie roll, you obediently press the GO button at the bottom of your screen._


	4. The accident

_Thank you for all the nifty reviews everybody. I was feeling cranky the other day, but then I my mood drastically improved when I started reading the really nice/funny reviews._

_For the first time I realized that I could respond to reviews via e-mail instead of on the story. Cool, eh?_

_Sorry this update took so long, I've been working like a fiend lately._

**STEVE'S POV**

I wiped the sweat off of my brow and adjusted my face mask to prevent it from slipping off of my face. Looking back up, the sight that greeted me was the oily engine of a blue 1956 Chevy. I finished welding the half-pipe onto the place where I had just removed the muffler. I was relieved when the job was finally done because the heat under the car was stifling.

Sliding out from under the Chevy I looked around for my Pepsi to quench my thirst. I groaned when I finally located it. My "best friend" was casually leaning against a car window, and taking a huge swig out of _my_ soda.

"…and I would love to see you at my party tonight." Soda was saying as I stormed up to him. Yanking the Pepsi from his hand, I found that it was empty.

Soda finished waving as the pretty blondes drove away and turned to face me.

"Hey buddy," he drawled.

"You're not having a party tonight," I said crankily because I was hot and thirsty.

Soda shrugged nonchalantly. "So it's Greg's party. Those babes seemed impressed. Who was I to disappoint them?"

Rolling my eyes, I stalked off to buy another Pepsi. This one wasn't leaving my sight.

**PONY'S POV**

The afternoon was brisk with the sharpness of the season, but the bright sun cast down a hint of warmth. Drowsily, I lied down on an aluminum bleacher near the track. My eyelids dropped shut. I thought that surely I had time to rest my eyes before the rest of the team arrived for practice.

I felt a shadow cross my vision and I peeked up through the slits in my eyes. The amused face of Jason Corley looked down at me.

"You're always so tired Curtis," Jason commented.

"You would be too if you had as much to do as me," I grumbled.

"Don't I?" He asked. "We're both Spanish club officers, we're both in track, we're in most of the same AP classes. It all depends on how you handle it."

I sat up groggily. I wondered what Jason was getting at. I patiently waited for him to continue.

Instead of saying anything else, Jason jumped up and ran over to his gym bag. He rooted around until he found what he was looking for and returned to me. In his hand was a small green bottle of pills. He shoved the bottle in question into my hand; my fingers curled around it.

"What's this, Corley?"

Jason said, "You hold in your hand the miracle pill that is going to save your life. These little babies are natural energy boosters. They're completely organic, so they are very safe."

I guess I looked uneasy, so Jason hurriedly continued, "they have ephedrine in them. That makes you more active and alert to do physical things- like track."

"No thanks," I said, pushing the bottle back at Jason. He quickly pushed them back at me.

"My parents know I take them, Carrie takes them, and so do George, Collin, and Sarah. Nothing bad has ever happened.

"Listen, just keep it. Then if you change your mind, you'll have them." Jason said.

I didn't have time to think about it, so I shoved them in my backpack and dashed off to join the team.

**TWO-BIT'S POV**

"It's late, we're closed," the bartender said pointedly to me.

Taking the "hint", I fell off of my stool and drunkenly staggered toward the door. When I reached the dark parking lot, I found my car and sped away.

The dark night blurred past me in a rush as I sped down a side street. The road was smooth and clear before me. For the first time in a long while, I felt great. I didn't know where I was or where I was going, but I didn't care. I was enjoying the smooth rumble of the engine beneath me.

I got lost in my thoughts for a moment, and when I came to I was on a gravel road with weedy lots on each side of me. I was quickly approaching a dark silhouette. Squinting, I realized that it was a lone rider on a motorcycle riding in front of me. His helmeted head was ducked forward against a breeze.

My right foot reached for the brake to slow down, but in my daze I accidentally pressed the gas pedal harder.

I cursed as the car sped up and bore toward the motorcyclist. He jerked the handlebar in an attempt to veer out of my deadly charge, but his biked swerved off of the road. To my horror, the rider was pitched off of the bike and thrown into a rocky ditch on the side of the road.

_A cliffhanger! Mwahahahhahahahaha! Sorry I have to end it here. If it's any comfort, I promise I'll update again tonight, or tomorrow at the latest._


	5. The deal

_Thank you all once again for the nice reviews, and if you didn't review don't worry. You still have another chance to redeem yourself on this chapter. I'm willing to look the other way._

_Now on to the story!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders._

**DOCTOR CORLEY'S POV**

I walked briskly down the white linoleum hallway with a heavy pile of paperwork piled high in my hands. I reached my destination and briefly hesitated outside the hospital room of my newest charge. I was pretty new to this doctor business and I still felt like I was intruding every time I busted into a room.

I opened the door and walked in. An uncomfortable silence hung heavy in the air, and I could tell that it had been there long before I had arrived.

The handsome boy in the bed was sleeping peacefully on the hospitable bed, largely thanks to the painkillers that he was on. Considering the circumstances, he was a very lucky young man. Sodapop, that was his name according to his medical records, could have been hurt way worse than he was.

In the fall his right hand had instinctively stretched forward to brace his body against the impact. Unfortunately, the sharp blow from the ground had caused the bone in his forearm to ram up into his humerus, shattering his elbow in the process. Three hours of an expensive surgery had seen to the impetration of four metal pins into his elbow, which would be removed along with the cast in five months. His entire right side was bruised and cut from the hard fall off of his motorcycle, but he would make a full recovery with time.

Peaceful looking was a far cry from how the rest of the people in the room looked.

A young man about my age was leaning against the wall, tightly gripping a Styrofoam cup of black coffee. The moment I stepped in he snapped to attention and took on an air of parental responsibility.

Seated in a chair in the farthest possible corner of the room was a hunched over kid with long rusty sideburns. I don't ever recall ever seeing anybody look as miserable as he looked. Another young man was seated next to the bed. He was holding a Pepsi and looking down reflexively into it.

I turned toward the first man, who was Soda's guardian.

"Nice to see you again, Darry. We'll keep him here tonight for observation, and then you can take him home in the morning." He nodded briskly and I rummaged through my papers in search of billing information, only to realize I had left it at the nurses' station. "If you just wait here I'll be back in a moment to discuss payment options."

I turned to leave the room to go get the paperwork at the nurses' station that I had forgotten. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a boy about fourteen or fifteen years old with silky hair slip quietly out the door behind me. I was surprised that I had not noticed him in the room before.

He motioned for me to step aside.

"I'm Soda's brother, Ponyboy," he said. I'm sure a made a face at his name, but he didn't seem to notice because he was probably used to it.

"Listen, my brother Darry can't afford the surgery on his own without him having to get a second job again. I don't want that for him. If you give me time, I'll pay for it, but don't let him know that I am."

I regarded him suspiciously. His face was hard to read, but I detected a hint of desperation in his eyes.

"Why kid?" I asked him. "What's in it for you?"

He looked down and dug his toe in the ground.

"Darry's sacrificed a lot for me. He finally has his life headed where he wants it, which includes time to relax, have a girlfriend, and only one job. I want to do something for him, but I don't want him to know it though."

"That's real noble of you kid, but I can only deal with the legal guardian."

"Wait, please just find a loophole. I'm a trustworthy person. I'll get a job. I'm a friend of your brother, Jason. He can vouch for me."

I paused. I remembered Darry from high school. I didn't know him that well, but I did know that he got saddled with too much responsibly too soon in life. Who was I to stand in the way if his little brother wanted to be a Good Samaritan? After all, I helped my own family financially.

I sighed heavily, already having a sneaking suspicion that I would regret what I was about to do. I agreed and went in search of a loophole that would fit the situation.

_Sorry this is so short, but I promised to have it up by today and the time is 11:46pm. So I, being the procrastinator that I am, put it off until the last possible second. I hope that the whole doctor/Pony side deal thing wasn't too farfetched, but I want Pony to be way overworked for where I'm going with this._


	6. The aftermath

_Thank you to linda5576, xodamhsoirx, AddictionToFiction, I heartponyboy33, DreamerandReckless, soda's girl, and penmaster for taking the time to review._

_Disclaimer: I don't own S.E. Hinton's characters._

**NARRATOR'S POV**

Whenever he did tedious work, Ponyboy had a tendency to stop now and then to daydream, to analyze, or to let his mind reflect. On one particular day in January during the beginning of his second school semester, Ponyboy's mind stayed doggedly on the task before him.

For what felt like the zillionth time, Ponyboy jammed the mop head into the yellow mop bucket top and firmly squeezed down the draining handle. Dark black water rushed through the slats to mix with the sudsy brown water to make it darker.

He didn't want to think of anything else at the moment. He didn't want to think about all the papers and worksheets he had still undone. He didn't want to think about his pathetic times in track practice a couple of hours ago. He didn't want to think about future meets. And Ponyboy definitely didn't want to think about Two-Bit avoiding Soda and Two-Bit constantly eating and watching TV.

What did Ponyboy want? He wanted to take a nap. A long one. He was so tired he wanted to curl up into a ball and never wake up.

Ponyboy was concentrating so hard on not thinking that he accidentally pressed the lever hard enough to tip the entire mop bucket over.

Dirty, sudsy water spilled out to each side of the hallway.

Of course, it was at this moment that a group of four or five socs decided to walk around the corner. A boy wearing a red polo shirt in front of the group was broadly smirking at the sight.

"Hey grease, how's the job going?" He asked mockingly. "From here it doesn't look like it's going too well."

Randy Adderson, who was one of the socs in the group, shot Ponyboy a sympathetic look.

Ponyboy's face turned scarlet with humiliation. He ran a hand angrily through his tuff hair.

"F- off," Ponyboy snarled.

Still smirking infuriatingly, polo shirt guy walked through the dirty water with his posse on his heels. Wet footprints were left behind on the tile Ponyboy had just mopped. Ponyboy swore and flipped off the retreating backs.

**SODA'S POV**

January frost bit into my skin and teeth. I started walking faster in an attempt to warm-up. After an eternity of walking in a blizzard (translation: a couple minutes of walking in a snow flurry), I finally reached my destination. I stood at the ripped screen door of a falling apart clapboard house and politely knocked.

Mrs. Mathews opened the door.

Hi Soda Honey," she greeted. "How are you? Is your arm feeling alright?"

She opened the screen door and ushered me inside the house.

"Is Two-Bit here?" I asked.

Mrs. Mathews indicated to Two-Bit's room with her head. She lowered her voice so low that I had to lean my head right next to her mouth in order to hear her.

"Try to cheer him up dear, he's been really down lately and I don't know how to help him."

I assured Mrs. Mathews that I would certainly try.

Two-Bit was sitting on the floor against his bed. The floor was littered with empty food cartons, chip bags, dirty clothes, and magazines.

"Dude, what's that smell?" I asked when I walked in.

Two-Bit mumbled an apology. He refused to look me in the eye.

I frowned. He was acing so unlike himself lately, especially since the accident. He hadn't touched a drop of alcohol since then. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, I couldn't tell.

I looked down to see an extremely guilty look on his face. His eyes were on the cast that covered my arm from bicep to fingers.

Cautiously I asked, "You know I don't blame you for what happened to me, right?"

Two-Bit didn't say anything, and his eyes remained fixed on this static-filled black and white TV screen. I eased myself gently down on the floor beside him. I was careful to make sure that the side with all my dark bruises was on the opposite side from his sight.

"But you've really put me in an uncomfortable situation buddy," I said in mock seriousness. "You and I both know that Darry is as light-hearted as a rock. Pony's not much better. And we both know that although Steve tries really hard, he's just not that funny."

I paused to watch him not look at me before plunging on. Was it just my imagination, or did I see a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lip. "Naturally, that has always left you and me to be the comic relief in the gang. Lately though, with you being out of it, I'm forced to stand alone against these non-comedians way outnumbered. Talk about pressure!"

Seeing that my tactic was having no effect I switched my strategy.

"Darry was right. He knew I would get into trouble with that bike. If it wasn't you it would have been somebody else, and it probably would have been worse."

For the first time Two-Bit looked up at me. He held out the bag of potato chips in his hand like a peace offering. I grabbed a couple of chips focused on the screen.

"Wanna tell me what else is up with you. You were pretty down before the accident ever happened."

I sighed to myself in frustration when Two-Bit once again didn't say anything.

Shrugging, I hunkered down to watch TV. What were friends for if they wouldn't sit back and be with you while you mulled through life's problems?

_Whoa! Give this lady a hand. Did I update, or did I update? (Don't worry, it was a trick question._

_Please, please, please review. It doesn't take long and I really appreciate it._

_I need feedback so that I know what you want from the story. I take suggestions._

_Believe it or not, I actually have the next chapter planned. Amazing, huh? In it we will meet the elusive Charlene, aka Darry's girlfriend. We will also observe Pony giving into pressure and Darry being oblivious to it._


	7. Dinner with Charlene

I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to update. I know it's a lame excuse, but I've been really busy. I want to thank so many of you for taking the time to review and give helpful suggestions. Tomorrow I'm going to go back to make a couple small changes that many of you have suggested would make the story better. Sometimes I don't even realize when someone is out of character like Pony is in chapter 5. Thank you for your patience.

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own them. (I wish)

**CHARLENE'S POV**

This was silly. I was a grown woman. Yet I felt like I a teenager meeting my boyfriend's parents for the first time. A situation in which I have never felt comfortable.

To me, what made it even sillier was that this wasn't even Darry's parents from whom I was looking for approval. No- it was his brothers. His _little_ brothers.

"More potatoes, Charlene?" Soda asked me. I nodded my head and reached to take the warm dish from Soda. Soda was one the most handsome men that I had ever met. If he ever went into showbiz, producers would probably beg him to star in lead roles. I really liked Soda's personality a lot; my nerves were eased merely by his charisma.

Soda wasn't the problem though; I could tell we were going to get along just fine. My eyes darted across the table to stare at Darry's youngest brother, Ponyboy. He looked like he would be as handsome as his brothers if he didn't have such a gaunt appearance. Ponyboy's features were haggard, his skin looked sallow, his nails were bitten to the cuticle, and to complete the fatigued look, dark circles drooped below his eyes. This was one exhausted looking kid. I wanted to take a nap for him.

Ponyboy's greenish gray eyes caught my brown ones for a moment before quickly hurrying back to the safety of staring at his fried chicken. A shadow of a scowl twisted around his mouth.

"So Ponyboy," I said with a smile, "I hear that you're brilliant in school nowadays."

Ponyboy shrugged dispassionately.

Out of the corner of my eye I observed Darry shooting a stern look in Pony's direction. Curiously I watched the silent exchange between the two of them.

Darry raised his eyebrow at Pony, Pony shrugged indifferently. Darry then bestowed Pony with a level stare. Pony opened his eyelids wide for a moment, which I took to be an eye roll without actually rolling his eyes. Pony gave a half a smile as Darry nodded at him. All this took place in less than a second and I wondered exactly what was agreed upon between them.

Soda laughed and leaned toward me confidently, "They do that all the time." He then leaned the other way to throw his good arm that wasn't in a cast around Ponyboy. "And yes, this is our little genius. We don't expect much of him. Just that he support us in our old age, buy a mansion for us to live in, marry up, and have lots of kids named all after me." Soda grinned that crazy smile of his, Darry and I chuckled, and Pony did that weird eye roll thing of his.

Later that night… 

The television glowed softly as Darry and I snuggled in front of it. Soda was at a party and Pony was doing something up in his room.

"Darry," I said hesitantly.

"Hmm?"

"I don't mean to pry, but don't you think… have you noticed… is Pony always…"

At Pony's name he looked away from the TV at me. "'Is Pony always' what"

"Well, I just mean, he looks so tired. I think he might be sick or something."

Thinking, Darry frowned. "I don't think so. He acts a little odd now and again, but that's just teenage stuff." He turned his head toward Pony's room and said more to himself than me, "I see him everyday, I would know if something was wrong."

I didn't say anything else on the subject. But I thought that that was the problem. Darry and Soda _do_ see Pony everyday and may not see changes because they come so gradually.

PONY'S POV 

"Pone, come to bed and turn out that light."

"Hold on, I'm almost done." I snapped. I felt, rather than saw, Soda raise an eyebrow at my back. I softened my tone. "Sorry, I just have a couple more questions left."

With a flourish, I answered the last question. I heard Soda applaud behind me and I laughed. My laughing abruptly stopped as my eye landed on my Spanish workbook. I had pages in there due tomorrow. There was always an overwhelmingly large amount of homework to be done.

Putting it off, I joined Soda in bed after I hurriedly shoved papers and books into my backpack and flicked of the offending light.

As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was in heaven. It took me seconds to fall asleep anymore because I was always so tired.

My tired brain mentally groaned the moment Soda rolled my way and opened his mouth. My wilting eyelids pried themselves open.

"We haven't talked in awhile Pone, how've you been?"

"What are talking about? We talk everyday."

"No," he insisted, I mean really talk. "Tell me everything that's been going on with you."

I didn't want to have this conversation. Whenever I told Soda anything he would want to know details and how I felt about things. And that's a really long talk when you don't want to be awake in the next five seconds.

"It's been going good Soda, I've just been a bit tired because of track. But once the semester is over I'll be better." An image of a green bottle of pills popped into my head and I slowly smiled. "Plus I have a way to fix it until then."

"And how's that?" Soda asked.

I didn't answer him because I was already asleep.


	8. Unponyish behavior and a scare at the DX

_Whiffs of Change would proudly like to welcome Ch. 8 into its humble little family. I do realize that Ponyboy and Two-Bit are out of character in this chapter. For now, that is intentional._

_I would like to thank linda5576, who gave me the idea of Two-Bit finding the pills and lecturing Ponyboy. I would also like to thank AddictionToFiction for reminding me yesterday to get on the ball and update this story._

**NARRATOR'S POV**

"The stands are tense as Ponyboy Michael Curtis steps up to the plate," Rusty dramatically announced as Ponyboy did indeed step up to the plate. "This is the moment that could either make it or break it for the team."

"'Make it or break it for the team my foot'," Jason snorted. "We're losing 17-6. I really doubt that any miracle Pony pulls off will help our sorry butts."

Pony whirled around on them with energetic indignation.

"Are you doubting my mad kickball skills?" He demanded before whirling back around to face the pitcher.

Ponyboy kicked at the ball with such enthusiasm that it was an obvious out-of-bounds. The second attempt Ponyboy missed completely and almost tripped. He laughed exuberantly at his own antics.

Ponyboy didn't notice that most of his teammates were looking at him strangely.

"Is it just me," Rusty asked Jason Corley, "or has Ponyboy been acting very unponyboyish lately?"

Corley grinned. "Maybe he just has more energy than he used to."

Rusty shook his head, "No, it's more than that."

The team turned as a car pulled up next to the lot that they were in. Two-Bit leaned out of his car that had just gotten out of the repair shop.

"Yo little horse! I'll give you a ride home," he hollered.

Pony rounded the bases and ran up to Two-Bit's window. "Naw," he said, "I don't plan to leave for awhile. I'll just walk."

Two-Bit smiled strangely. "No, we'll go right now. I insist."

Pony shrugged and went around to the passenger's side. When he sat down his knees started to bounce up and down with nervous energy.

**PONY'S POV**

"So…" Two-bit said conversationally. "I was looking for some paper yesterday to write a note to myself telling me how great I am." I chuckled; unsure of where Two-Bit was going with this.

"That must have been a really short letter," I said.

Two-Bit grinned at me. "I admit it was shorter than I thought- f you call 76 pages short. Anyway, everybody knows that a school kid, such as yourself, has to have paper in his backpack… Which is where I found something." I stopped smiling very abruptly.

My hands started shaking, and it wasn't from the pills. "You're not going to tell Darry are you?" Great, my voice now matched my hands.

"I'm no tattle tale Pone."

"Good, "I said, "problem solved."

He shook his head. "I'm not a deep person. But if you have to hide something because you know you're family won't approve, then you probably don't need to be doing it."

"It doesn't hurt anything," I defended.

We didn't say anything for a while.

"They let me smoke."

"Smoking doesn't give you heart attacks at a young age or make you drown. Do you remember the kid who drowned in the creek last year? He was on this 'healthy' drug.

"I think you're making a big deal out of nothing. This whole situation is stupid." I knew I was about to be mean, but I couldn't help it. I felt antsy to begin with and I felt like I was being attacked. "You know, I don't think I like this new responsible you. I like the old _fun_ Two-Bit. The one who wasn't such a-"

"You know what?!" Two-Bit snapped. "I don't like you anymore either. How 'bout that?"

His words stung. I ignored him the rest of the way home, which I admit was silly of me. The old me would never have been this temperamental. And I should have more understanding of Two-Bit because of what he was going through.

**SODA'S POV**

Later that night

I leaned against the coke counter and stared hungrily at the magazine spread in front of me. She was beautiful. A 1967 Corvette Stingray with major horsepower. The broad on the hood wasn't too shabby either. My eyes were so hooked into the little lady that I didn't hear the door open.

"Can you help me?"

I tore my eyes away from the spread to watch a boy about Pony's age stumble into the DX. He didn't look too hot. He was clutching his left arm and gasping for breath. If he wasn't so young I'd swear he was having a heart attack. I dashed around the counter to go help him. When I reached him I noticed with renewed horror that he was Pony's friend Cory or Cordly or something.

"Call me an ambulance please."

Grabbing Steve's keys I said, "I'll do you one better. I'll drive you to the hospital myself."

_Author's note: Jason had a mild heart attack because of the tachycardia and vasopressure(sp?) that are common side effects of ephedrine pills._

_Author's ramble: Next chapter is going to feature Pony and Darry having it out. After that I think that there will be two more chapters to wrap this story up._ _And as always, reviews are always appreciated._

_Another Author Note: If you read this earlier and you are reading it again, I took a small part of this chapter because after thinking about it I found it unrealistic on Two-Bit's behalf._


	9. It all comes out

_One chapter to go until the story is finished! (maybe two chapters but probably not)_

_Xodamhsoirxo- You're right. The meeting just didn't fit with Two-Bit's personality. So I took it out._

_Girlz-Rule and crazy4jensen- Thanks for the reviews! They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. _

_AddictionToFiction- Thank you, it did make me feel better. After two days it showed up on mine too. Which is kind of weird…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders._

**DARRY'S POV**

9:04; we needed a new clock. The one we had must be defective or something. For it was going much too slow to be the actual time. I could have sworn that it had been 9:04 for the past ten minutes. I hunched anxiously in my easy chair and kneaded my hands in anxiety. I had something important to tell Pony, but he wouldn't get home soon enough. Then again, I wouldn't be ready when he did come.

I leaned back in my chair but almost immediately tensed forward again. 9:05; I was going to buy a new one tomorrow. The time couldn't possibly be right.

At that moment the door opened and Two-Bit walked in. My face must have fallen because Two-Bit kidded me, "Don't look so disappointed to see me. I'm not staying that long."

Before I could say anything Pony came in the house.

"How you doing Pony?" He shrugged.

"Anything happen to you today?" He shook his head and started toward the kitchen.

"Wait Pony, I need to talk to you about something. Come sit down."

"Sure." He plopped down on the end of the couch near my chair.

I was nervous, but long practice had made me hide my emotions pretty well. People can never tell what I'm thinking or feeling when I put on my mask.

"Pony," I said sternly, "I want to ask you about something."

"You know you can ask us anything, honey lumps", Two-Bit, who had plopped down next to Pony, said.

I looked at him until he got up and went to the kitchen, muttering all the way.

I took a deep breath and looked at Pony again.

"How do you like Charlene?" He shrugged. Could this kid respond without shrugging?

"Well, what would you say if Charlene and I got serious?"

He shrugged. Dang him. "You're already serious."

"No, I mean _really_ serious. As in… well… marriage." He didn't say anything so I hurried on to add. "I'm going to wait until after you graduate. But we'll be engaged until that. Soda's already ok with the whole situation. But it will be a big change. Like you'll see a lot more of her, and she might spend the night some nights. But at the same time it won't be that big of a change. It'll still be us boys… and sometimes Charlene…" I trailed off.

When had I become such a coward? When I first took on the role of guardian I was firm, never babbled, and _certainly_ never sought approval.

I couldn't tell what Pony was thinking. His face was unreadable. He must have gotten that from me. How annoying.

At moment Steve stormed in.

"SODA!" He bellowed. "Where's my car?! No, where the HECK is my car?!

"HE'S NOT HOME YET," Two-Bit shouted from the kitchen.

"WELL WHERE IS HE?"

"STOP YELLING IN THE HOUSE," I yelled.

At that moment Soda came in the house. "DARRY!" He shouted. "ARE YOU HOME?"

"I'm sitting right in front of you," I snapped.

"Oh, hey! Guess what happened to me."

"You got jumped?"

"No, don't guess. I'll tell you. That kid Jason Corley had a heart attack. He's in the hospital."

Pony looked up startled, "What? Why?"

Soda shrugged and threw himself down on the couch, squishing Pony in the process. "He must have a heart condition in his family or somethin'."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Two-Bit shooting Pony a significant look. I followed his gaze to Pony, and really looked at him for the first time in what seemed like a long time. He looked like he hadn't slept in awhile. Or eaten.

"I think Pony has something he wants to tell everybody," Two-Bit said through a mouthful of chicken from the fridge. I immediately felt uneasy.

So for the next half hour Soda and I forced everything out of Pony: His extra track practices, homework, rank, secret job, secret deal, pills, and stress. Meanwhile Two-Bit and Steve hid discreetly in the kitchen.

When I learned about the job Pony had gotten to help me out I was both touched and enraged. Being me, I chose to express the anger.

"You did what?!" I suddenly shouted at one point. "Can't you _ever_ use your head? You're too young for such responsibility! Gosh darn it if I had a-" Soda cut me off. "Leave him alone, let him finish."

I felt guilty when I heard about all the all-nighters and skipped meals I had failed to notice. I hadn't been paying much attention to him ever since Charlene and I started getting really serious. But it was Soda's job to tell me if something was up. I felt guilty again for blaming Soda; he wasn't the legal guardian, and he had been loopy lately with all the painkillers he was taking anyways. I vowed then and there that from that point on I was going to be on that child's back 24/7. He would eat, sleep, do homework, and do absolutely everything under my supervision. I didn't care if it meant tying him up and forcing him to do what I wanted for him.

"Let's not all act crazy here," Soda said. Was it just me, or was he looking pointedly at me when he said it.

"Yeah Darry! Watch what you do or you'll end up in a loony bin," Pony snarled.

"You watch your mouth. You're on shaky ground as it is."

He stood up angrily. "You'd have to be insane to bring that woman into our lives."

"You said you were fine with it."

"I never had a chance to answer," he said, scowling. "And to tell you the truth, I am absolutely definitely positively and whatever other ivelys there are NOT fine with it."

I jumped up. Soda jumped up too. "Pony, go to bed," he said.

"I'm not done with him!" I growled.

"I think that this can wait until you cool down and you and I have a chance to talk." He turned to Pony. "You. Bed. Now. And don't go to sleep buddy. Because, trust me, we are in for a _very_ long talk." He turned in the direction of the kitchen. "If I were you two I would go home right about now." He turned back to me. "You. Sit."

I collapsed in my chair and put my head in my hands. Soda fell backward onto the couch with a long sigh.

"Remember when our biggest concern was how to figure out what was in our Christmas presents behind mom's and dad's back?" He drawled.

I smiled into my hands. "yeah, it never worked."

He was quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry I didn't pay attention to anything Dar."

I looked up from my hands. "It's not your job."

"Yes it is, and you know it. We're all in this together."

And of course because he said that, I didn't feel as alone as I had been feeling for the past hour. Soda could fix anything that needed sensitivity. I knew he would fix me, and fix Pony.

After he went to bed I sat alone in the living room for a long time, listening to the hushed conversation coming from Soda's and Pony's bedroom.

_Wow-that was a long chappie. I hope everybody shows their appreciation by reviewing. (hint hint) Happy Easter everyone._


	10. The last one

_This chapter has been stressing me out (kind of). I wanted to make it especially good because it's the last one, but nothing inspiring came to me. So I wrote it anyway. I hope it's not too cheesy. (But oh, how I do love the cheese.)_

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Hint well taken! _

_Swizzlet-Schiz- Whoa Nellie! Let's watch the language there buddy. We don't need someone saying things that refer to the bottom with innocent eyes around (like mine ;) )._

_Girlz-Rule- Me too. I'm glad he did to, even though it was in my power the whole time._

_phoenix013- Oh… you'll see. Actually, no you won't because I don't directly say it in this chapter. But he does sympathize. That's why he let Pony off pretty easy._

_Dcsprouserocks- Fine, you've got yourself another update kiddo._

_ComicChick396- Thank you for taking the time to review. I'm glad you like the story, that's the point. _

_Michelle Andolin­- I tried to update for you, I really did. I would have updated sooner, but every time I try to submit the chapter to fanfiction, it says an error has occurred. In fact, as I'm typing this it still won't let me._

_KagomeMiroku - Thank you for all the reviews you left me. I love it when people review more than one chapter. (Not that I don't mind people just reviewing one chapter; I love it then, too!)_

_Xodamhsoirxo- That was plan if I couldn't think of anything better, but luckily for all of us I cut out all the boring parts._

**PONY'S POV**

"So you're grounded forever?" Jason asked me.

I was sitting in Jason's room. He was having a week of bed rest.

"Puh-leeze! It's impossible to ground a person for 'life'. You're legally allowed to leave when you're eighteen. So the _longest_ that Darry could _possibly_ ground me is two and a half years, tops."

"Yeah- when you put it that way it sounds sooo much better," Jason said sarcastically.

"And to answer your question: No, I'm not grounded at all."

"Really? Why not?"

I smiled. "It was all Darry could think of to bargain with."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, Darry has agreed to overlook all past occurrences on the condition that I make a real effort to get along with his girlfriend."

"That's blackmail!" Jason exclaimed.

I shrugged. "Well I'm not complaining."

I saw Darry's truck pull up through Jason's window. "I gotta go." I grabbed my back pack off the floor.

"Why?"

"Part of the 'getting along with Charlene' includes eating dinner with her parents tonight."

"Ah-I see. So that's why you don't have the usual gallon of grease in your hair. It's only like half a gallon today." I was already out of the room by the time he said that.

"See ya," I yelled over my shoulder. I jogged out to the truck and opened the passenger door.

"Move greaser," I said to Soda.

He laughed at me. "You're one to talk, you hoodlum." He rubbed his hand over my hair hard, messing up my nice, greasy hair style, before scooting over to the middle seat. I jumped in after him and slammed the door. Now the three of us were jammed in the front, as if the plastic seats weren't hot enough. I grabbed a comb off the dashboard and tried to fix my hair back to normal.

Soda leaned over and whispered very loudly in my ear, "Darry's scared about meeting the parents for the first time."

"Oh really?" I leaned over and smirked at my tuff oldest brother.

"You all better shove it," he said gruffly, but the tips of his ears were turning slightly red. He quickly changed the subject. "I'm real proud of how you've been keeping you grades up Pony."

Soda threw his arm around me. "That's my kid brother- a brain and a track star athlete extraordinaire. You should have brought your district medals Pone. Then you could have shown them off to everybody, including Charlene's parents.

Great, now it was my ears' turn to redden. Soda cranked the radio up when an Elvis song started and, unfortunately for me and Darry, began to sing along loudly.

I sighed to myself. Only a little more than two years left before everything would change. Not too much would change though. I knew that no matter who or what came into our lives, the three of us, Steve, and Two-Bit would always be in each other's lives.

_Ta-Da!!! And that's a wrap ladies and gentlemen. Although there are some things about the story I wish I had not done, I am pleased with it as a whole. I want to give it a hug._


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